Academic Libraries: 2010

Selected FindingsServices Academic libraries loaned some 11.2 million documents to other libraries in fiscal year 2010 (table1). Academic libraries also borrowed approximately 10.2 million documents from other libraries andcommercial services. Documents from commercial services accounted for about 176,000 of thosedocuments borrowed. The majority of academic libraries, 2,440, were open between 60-99 hours during a typical weekin fall of 2010 (derived from table 2). Another 559 academic libraries were open 100 or morehours per typical week. In fiscal year 2010, academic libraries conducted approximately 34.6 million informationservices to individuals,1 including computer searches (table 3).Collections At the end of fiscal year 2010, there were 227 academic libraries that held at least 1 million ormore books, serial backfiles, and other paper materials including government documents (table4). Academic libraries held approximately 158.7 million e-books and about 1.8 million electronicreference sources and aggregation services1 at the end of fiscal year 2010 (table 5).In fiscal year 2010, academic libraries added about 12.9 million audiovisual material units,making their total audiovisual material holdings over 1.12 billion units (tables 5 and 6).Staff Academic libraries reported 88,943 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff working in academiclibraries during the fall of 2010 (table 7).Academic libraries reported 26,706 FTE librarians working during the fall of 2010 (table 7).Librarians accounted for about 30 percent of the total number of FTE staff in academic librariesduring the fall of 2010.Expenditures Just under half of academic libraries, 1,739, had total expenditures of 500,000 or more in fiscalyear 2010 (derived from table 8). Another 581 academic libraries had total expenditures under 100,000 (derived from table 8). During fiscal year 2010, academic libraries spent about 3.4 billion on salaries and wages,representing approximately 50 percent of total library expenditures (table 9). Academic libraries spent approximately 152.4 million for electronic books, serial backfiles, andother materials in fiscal year 2010 (table 10). Expenditures for electronic current serialsubscriptions totaled about 1.2 billion.During fiscal year 2010, academic libraries spent approximately 142.7 million for computerhardware and software (table 11).Electronic Services In fall of 2010, about 41 percent of academic libraries reported providing documents digitized by staff(table 12). Over half (54 percent) reported providing technology to assist patrons with disabilities in fall of 2010(table 12).Virtual Reference During fiscal year 2010, some 72 percent of academic libraries reported that they supported virtualreference services (table 13). During fiscal year 2010, about 32 percent of academic libraries reported that they utilized instantmessaging applications (table 13).1See appendix C for definitions of information services to individuals and electronic reference sources andaggregation services.2

Tables3

Table 1. Total circulation, interlibrary loan transactions, and documents received from commercial services at academic libraries, by control, level, size, and Carnegie classificationTable 1. of institution: Fiscal year 2010Totalnumber 002,600,0791,680,40480,65895,792Level3Total 4-year and above4Doctor’sMaster’sBachelor’sLess than 49233,33360,865166,74888,55866,30111,8899,702Size (FTE enrollment)6Less than 1,0001,000 to 2,9993,000 to 4,9995,000 to 9,99910,000 to 19,99920,000 or 917,57435,32568,437Institutional characteristicAll U.S. academic librariesCirculationInterlibrary loan transactions and documents received from commercial servicesLoans provided to other librariesLoans and documents receivedNonNonFrom commercialTotal Returnablereturnable1Total Returnablereturnable1services24Carnegie classification3Doctoral/Research27569,397,995 4,2172,457,97566,754Master’s I and 46260,57425,524Not 10,34312,812981“Non-returnable” refers to materials that the supplier/lending library does not expect to have returned. Examples of non-returnables include photocopies or facsimiles, fiche-to-fiche copies, print copiesfrom microfilm, electronic full-text documents, and gratis print copies of unpublished reports and/or departmental working papers.2“Documents received from commercial services” refers to all documents from commercial document delivery services received by the library’s users. This includes all transactions that the library paysfor, even if library staff is not involved in the transaction, and includes documents bought from providers such as Infotrieve, Ingenta, CISTI Document Delivery, and Thomson Scientific - DocumentSolution.3While “Level” and “Carnegie classification” are similar, there is not complete overlap in the two classifications. “Level” refers to the highest level of any degree offered by the institution. The“Carnegie classification” is based on criteria such as institutional mission and research funding in addition to highest level of degree awarded. Carnegie Classification of Institutions of HigherEducation, 2005 Edition. Alexander C. McCormick. Menlo Park, CA: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2005.4The number of doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s level institutions does not sum to the total number of 4-year and above institutions because there are 4-year and above institutions that grant otherdegrees and are thus not included in the breakdown.5“Less than 4-year” category refers to institutions that have at least a 2-year degree, but less than a 4-year degree (below the Baccalaureate degree).6“Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment” is calculated by adding one-third of part-time enrollment to full-time enrollment.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Academic Libraries Survey (ALS), 2010.

Table 2. Number of academic libraries, by public service hours per typical week, control, level, size, and Carnegie classification of institution: Fall 2010Public service hours per typical weekTotal number ofacademic librariesLessthan 2020 - 3940 - 5960 - 7980 - 99100 - 119120 - 517Level2Total 4-year and above3Doctor’sMaster’sBachelor’sLess than 2918833Size (FTE enrollment)5Less than 1,0001,000 to 2,9993,000 to 4,9995,000 to 9,99910,000 to 19,99920,000 or 111228393635411Institutional characteristicAll U.S. academic libraries5Carnegie er's I and 7171340884973109Specialized58021412128398537Not classified2271116613113221These libraries are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.2While "Level" and "Carnegie classification" are similar, there is not complete overlap in the two classifications. "Level" refers to the highest level of any degree offered by the institution. The"Carnegie classification" is based on criteria such as institutional mission and research funding in addition to highest level of degree awarded. Carnegie Classification of Institutions of HigherEducation, 2005 Edition. Alexander C. McCormick. Menlo Park, CA: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2005.3The number of doctoral, master's, and bachelor's level institutions does not sum to the total number of 4-year and above institutions because there are 4-year and above institutions that grant otherdegrees and are thus not included in the breakdown.4Less than 4-year category refers to institutions that have at least a 2-year degree, but less than a 4-year degree (below the Baccalaureate degree).5Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment is calculated by adding one-third of part-time enrollment to full-time enrollment.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Academic Libraries Survey (ALS), 2010.11970221

Table 3. Gate count, and total information services to individuals and groups, by control, level, size, and Carnegie classification of institution: Fiscal year 2010Total number ofacademic librariesGate count1during typical weekin fall 2010Total informationservices to individuals2fiscal year l3Total 4-year and above4Doctor’sMaster’sBachelor’sLess than e (FTE enrollment)6Less than 1,0001,000 to 2,9993,000 to 4,9995,000 to 9,99910,000 to 19,99920,000 or 31,6792,149,6662,295,357Institutional characteristicAll U.S. academic librariesInformation services to groups, fiscal year 2010Total number ofTotal numberservedpresentations6Carnegie 352160,0942,895,089Master's I and 2,202,13224,921428,695SpecializedNot classified227167,657402,4907,961125,3721"Gate count" is the number of persons who physically enter library facilities over the course of a typical week.2"Information services to individuals" is the number of information contacts that involve the knowledge, use, recommendation, interpretation, or instruction in the use of one or more information sourcesby a member of the library staff.3While "Level" and "Carnegie classification" are similar, there is not complete overlap in the two classifications. "Level" refers to the highest level of any degree offered by the institution. The"Carnegie classification" is based on criteria such as institutional mission and research funding in addition to highest level of degree awarded. Carnegie Classification of Institutions of HigherEducation, 2005 Edition. Alexander C. McCormick. Menlo Park, CA: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2005.4The number of doctoral, master's, and bachelor's level institutions does not sum to the total number of 4-year and above institutions because there are 4-year and above institutions that grant otherdegrees and are thus not included in the breakdown.5Less than 4-year category refers to institutions that have at least a 2-year degree, but less than a 4-year degree (below the Baccalaureate degree).6Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment is calculated by adding one-third of part-time enrollment to full-time enrollment.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Academic Libraries Survey (ALS), 2010.

Table 4. Volumes held at end of fiscal year and number of academic libraries, by number of books, serial backfiles, and other paper materials including government documents,Table 4. control, level, size, and Carnegie classification of institutions: Fiscal year 2010Institutional characteristicAll U.S. academic librariesControlPublicPrivateLevel1Total 4-year and above2Doctor’sMaster’sBachelor’sLess than 4-year37Size (FTE enrollment)4Less than 1,0001,000 to 2,9993,000 to 4,9995,000 to 9,99910,000 to 19,99920,000 or moreNumber of academic librariesNumber of books, serial backfiles, and other paper materials including government documents5,000 to 10,000 to 20,000 to 30,000 to 50,000 to 100,000 to 250,000 to 500,000 99Volumesheld at endof fiscal year TotalLess than5,0001,076,027,407 3,689592177227197445663691293177227654,864,528 1,559421,162,879 11265159681,021,831,451 95,956 193561769558231227213104051,574,505 1,236136,323,737 6713521654781743086991,000,000or moreCarnegie 13172432190Master’s I and 53,885 806847754512685953540Not classified2,455,992227165279213740001While “Level” and “Carnegie classification” are similar, there is not complete overlap in the two classifications. “Level” refers to the highest level of any degree offered by the institution. The“Carnegie classification” is based on criteria such as institutional mission and research funding in addition to highest level of degree awarded. Carnegie Classification of Institutions of HigherEducation, 2005 Edition. Alexander C. McCormick. Menlo Park, CA: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2005.2The number of doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s level institutions does not sum to the total number of 4-year and above institutions because there are 4-year and above institutions that grant otherdegrees and are thus not included in the breakdown.3“Less than 4-year” category refers to institutions that have at least a 2-year degree, but less than a 4-year degree (below the Baccalaureate degree).4“Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment” is calculated by adding one-third of part-time enrollment to full-time enrollment.SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Academic Libraries Survey (ALS), 2010.

Table 5. Number of volumes, units, and subscriptions held at the end of the fiscal year at academic libraries, by control, level, size, and Carnegie classification of institution: Fiscal year 2010Totalnumber ofacademiclibrariesBooks, serial backfiles,and other papermaterials, includinggovernment unitsCurrent onic referencesources andaggregation ,048Level2Total 4-year and above3Doctor’sMaster’sBachelor’sLess than 62,479193,439162,402Size (FTE enrollment)5Less than 1,0001,000 to 2,9993,000 to 4,9995,000 to 9,99910,000 to 19,99920,000 or 323,217265,340Institutional characteristicAll U.S. academic libraries8Carnegie ’s I and Not 816,7521“Electronic reference sources, and aggregation services” include citation indexes and abstracts; full-text reference sources (e.g., encyclopedias, almanacs, biographical and statistical sources, and otherquick fact-finding sources); full-text journal and periodical article collection services (e.g., EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Academic Universe, and INFOTRAC OneFile); and dissertation and conferenceproceedings databases. Licensed electronic resources also include those databases that institutions mount locally.2While “Level” and “Carnegie classification” are similar, there is not complete overlap in the two classifications. “Level” refers to the highest level of any degree offered by the institution. The“Carnegie classification” is based on criteria such as institutional mission and research funding in addition to

the study were as follows: C. Colleen Cook, Texas A&M University Libraries; Terri Fishel, Macalester College Library; Kit Keller, ALA Consultant; Martha Kyrillidou, Association of Research Libraries; William Miller and Rita Pellen, Florida Atlantic University Libraries; Kenley Neufeld, Santa Barbara City College; Patricia Profeta, Indian River .